To help achieve extended network coverage, improve service quality, and provide services such as wireless broadcast TV on user equipments, wireless relay links are being developed for a new generation of network technologies such as 4th generation (4G) wireless networks. A wireless relay link is a wireless connection between a radio access node and a relay node so that the access node may be coupled to an end user device or user equipment via the relay node. Otherwise the user equipment may be out of the reach of the access node or receive a poor-quality service from the access node.
Control signaling is a part of a wireless relay link because it enables communications between the access node and the relay node. The access node may send control instructions such as an access grant, a transmission acknowledgement, and a negative transmission acknowledgement, among others, to the relay node via the control signaling. With control signaling, a connection may be set up between the access node and the relay node, resource may be allocated, a transmission error between the two may be detected and corrected. The control signaling may take place at any one of the layers of open system interconnection (OSI) network model, including the physical layer, also termed layer 1, the data link and radio link control layer, also termed layer 2, and the network layer, also termed layer 3.
Although there are some existing control signaling schemes for wireless technologies based on standards such as IEEE 802.16 standards and existing 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standards, the existing control signaling schemes do not meet the needs of a new generation of wireless technologies such as 4G networks to support new generation of wireless services such as broadcast TV on user equipments.